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A global synthesis of ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalve molluscs - PubMed

A global synthesis of ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalve molluscs

Alexandra Zieritz et al. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Identification of ecosystem services, i.e. the contributions that ecosystems make to human well-being, has proven instrumental in galvanising public and political support for safeguarding biodiversity and its benefits to people. Here we synthesise the global evidence on ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalves, a heterogenous group of >1200 species, including some of the most threatened (in Unionida) and invasive (e.g. Dreissena polymorpha) taxa globally. Our systematic literature review resulted in a data set of 904 records from 69 countries relating to 24 classes of provisioning (N = 189), cultural (N = 491) and regulating (N = 224) services following the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). Prominent ecosystem services included (i) the provisioning of food, materials and medicinal products, (ii) knowledge acquisition (e.g. on water quality, past environments and historical societies), ornamental and other cultural contributions, and (iii) the filtration, sequestration, storage and/or transformation of biological and physico-chemical water properties. About 9% of records provided evidence for the disruption rather than provision of ecosystem services. Synergies and trade-offs of ecosystem services were observed. For instance, water filtration by freshwater bivalves can be beneficial for the cultural service 'biomonitoring', while negatively or positively affecting food consumption or human recreation. Our evidence base spanned a total of 91 genera and 191 species, dominated by Unionida (55% of records, 76% of species), Veneroida (21 and 9%, respectively; mainly Corbicula spp.) and Myoida (20 and 4%, respectively; mainly Dreissena spp.). About one third of records, predominantly from Europe and the Americas, related to species that were non-native to the country of study. The majority of records originated from Asia (35%), with available evidence for 23 CICES classes, as well as Europe (29%) and North America (23%), where research was largely focused on 'biomonitoring'. Whilst the earliest record (from 1949) originated from North America, since 2000, annual output of records has increased rapidly in Asia and Europe. Future research should focus on filling gaps in knowledge in lesser-studied regions, including Africa and South America, and should look to provide a quantitative valuation of the socio-economic costs and benefits of ecosystem services shaped by freshwater bivalves.

Keywords: Corbicula; Dreissena; Unionida; biofiltration; biomonitoring; cultural services; ecosystem services; freshwater mussels; provisioning services; regulating services.

© 2022 The Authors. Biological Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Cambridge Philosophical Society.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1

Linkages among the relative quantity of published records providing primary evidence for an association between freshwater bivalves and specific sections and groups of ecosystem services (sensu Haines‐Young & Potschin, 2018) based on different continents of study and/or status (native versus non‐native), effect (provider versus disrupter) and/or taxonomic order of study species. (A) Linkages among continent of study, status and effect of species, and ecosystem service section across all 904 published records. (B–D) Linkages among status and taxonomic order of species, and ecosystem service‐group of (B) provisioning (N = 189), (C) cultural (N = 491) and (D) regulating (N = 224) services.

Fig. 2
Fig. 2

Geographic and temporal patterns of published records providing primary evidence of an association between freshwater bivalves and specific sections of ecosystem services (sensu Haines‐Young & Potschin, 2018). (A) Heatmap of total number of records per continent with pie charts showing the relative proportions of the three ecosystem service sections. (B,C) Number of records per year of publication (B) per continent grouped by ecosystem service sections, and (C) grouped based on whether freshwater bivalves acted as ecosystem service providers or disruptors (top panel), bivalve status (native or non‐native; middle panel), and taxonomic order (bottom panel). Values from 1949 to 1985 are condensed along the x‐axes relative to those from 1985 to 2020 for ease of visualisation.

Fig. 3
Fig. 3

Examples of freshwater bivalves providing (A–E) and disrupting (F) ecosystem services. (A) Freshwater bivalves from Poyang Lake, China, being sold as a food source (credit: K. Douda). (B) Ornamental purse made of the nacreous layer of Cristaria sp. for sale at Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, Thailand (credit: U. Kovitvadhi & S. Kovitvadhi). (C) Unio elongatulus equipped with valvometer used for biomonitoring of water quality (credit: N. Riccardi); (D) Effect of Sinadondonta woodiana on water clarity in Lake Dianchi, China. Mussels were placed into the enclosure and their filtration improved water clarity to the extent that bottom‐rooting macrophytes could establish from the seed bank on the lake bed (credit D.C. Aldridge). (E) Non‐native Dreissena polymorpha attached on acrylic glass panels, which were inserted in a pilot‐plant in Milan, Italy, resulting in the removal of pharmaceuticals, drugs of abuse and heavy metals from civil wastewaters (credit: A. Binelli). (F) Disruption of the recreational value of the beach of the Minho River, Portugal, by dense aggregations of non‐native Corbicula fluminea shells after a massive die‐off event (credit: R. Sousa).

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